Eric Hoffer ( 10 of 253 )
The rule seems to be that those who find no difficulty in deceiving themselves are easily deceived by others. They read more
The rule seems to be that those who find no difficulty in deceiving themselves are easily deceived by others. They are easily persuaded and led.
The nineteenth century planted the words which the twentieth century ripened into the atrocities of Stalin and Hitler. There is read more
The nineteenth century planted the words which the twentieth century ripened into the atrocities of Stalin and Hitler. There is hardly an atrocity committed in the twentieth century that was not foreshadowed or even advocated by some noble man of words in the nineteenth.
Whoever originated the cliche that money is the root of all evil knew hardly anything about the nature of evil read more
Whoever originated the cliche that money is the root of all evil knew hardly anything about the nature of evil and very little about human beings.
The desire to be different from the people we live with is sometimes the result of our rejection- real or read more
The desire to be different from the people we live with is sometimes the result of our rejection- real or imagined- by them.
Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
We have rudiments of reverence for the human body, but we consider as nothing the rape of the human mind.
We have rudiments of reverence for the human body, but we consider as nothing the rape of the human mind.
The most effective way to silence our guilty conscience is to convince ourselves and others that those we have sinned read more
The most effective way to silence our guilty conscience is to convince ourselves and others that those we have sinned against are indeed depraved creatures, deserving every punishment, even extermination. We cannot pity those we have wronged, nor can we be indifferent toward them. We must hate and persecute them or else leave the door open to self-contempt.
When watching men of power in action it must be always kept in mind that, whether they know it or read more
When watching men of power in action it must be always kept in mind that, whether they know it or not, their main purpose is the elimination or neutralization of the independent individual- the independent voter, consumer, worker, owner, thinker- and that every device they employ aims at turning men into a manipulable "animated instrument" which is Aristotle's definition of a slave.
No matter what our achievements might be, we think well of ourselves only in rare moments. We need people to read more
No matter what our achievements might be, we think well of ourselves only in rare moments. We need people to bear witness against our inner judge, who keeps book on our shortcomings and transgressions. We need people to convince us that we are not as bad as we think we are.
In a trader-dominated society, the scribe is usually kept out of the management of affairs, but it given a more read more
In a trader-dominated society, the scribe is usually kept out of the management of affairs, but it given a more or less free hand in the cultural field. By frustrating the scribe's craving for commanding action, the trader draws upon himself the scribe's wrath and scorn.
